8.5

The House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut

BANNED! That was the word that the Office of Film and Literature Classification department of Australia used on this former Nintendo Wii game. Thankfully SEGA fought to over tune their classification and the game has finally been released in Australia with a very appropriate MA15+ rating. Similar to the Wii version, this on the rails shooter uses the innovative controls of the PlayStation Move which in turn allows you to aim the control at the television to create a very immersive experience as you blow undead into the thousands of pieces.

The game does support the SIXAXIS controller but it's definitely not as fun as the Move controller. Needless to say, I LOVED the Wii version of The House of the Dead: Overkill and although I've been therem done that... I still got a kick out of this game on the PlayStation 3 and if you never had the chance to play it, I strongly suggest you check it out.

In reference to the gameplay, it's basically moulded straight from the classic light gun genre which requires the player to dispatch wave after wave of enemies. However what made The House of the Dead: Overkill so awesome on the Nintendo Wii was the over the top storyline that was littered with more cussing than probably any game in existence plus this really cool retro and 70's exploitation theme.

From bad characterisation to awesome action sequences, The House of the Dead: Overkill followed Agent G and Isaac Washing on their own personal journey as they attempted to hunt down Papa Caesar in a classic Grindhouse setting. It was a true tale of good versus evil plus to allies who really didn't like each other. Imagine Tango & Cash of the 80's but with zombies and a considerable amount of swearing and this is what The House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Edition is all about.

However, joining the duo is the very sexy Varla Guns who adds to the exploitation theme but also boasts some great scenes and one-liners. This game is quite phallic endowed! In terms of gaming, you basically shoot an almost never ending hoard of undead with the occasional boss battle and cutscene thrown in for good measures. Shake and repeat until finished, that's the prescription of this game. But depending on which level you play, the game can give you a run for your money but fortunately there's plenty of health, ammunition and some very cool bullet time sequences for that real action movie experience.

However the PS3 version of this game also features glorious 3D plus high definition graphics which although doesn't put the previous game to shame, it definitely improves the title graphically, especially with the inclusion of 3D that at times makes you feel like the zombies will jump our of your FULL HD TV. Even though the majority of the gameplay is identical to the Wii version, the PS3 versions also boasts two new levels around our favourite girl, Varla Guns and the even friendly Candy, a stripper. Candy, although "eye-candy" will also give you the @#$'s due to her way over the top voice acting but it's actually part of the charm.

The two chapters in questions are awesomely labelled Naked Terror and Creeping Flesh with one set in a strip club and the other in a slaughterhouse. Apart from your stock standard mutant zombies, thanks to Papa Caesar, the two new levels with the girls also feature some new enemies and even new bosses but once again, it is the banter between Varla and Candy which makes these two new chapters so damn amusing and fun to play. There's also a few WTF moments and even some digital exploitation of this naive stripper in question. All in all, the gameplay works well on the PS3 and although it's not the most original game of the year, it's just FUN and it works!

Graphics & Audio

Graphically, The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut is a little Spartan on the PS3 but the developers have upped the textures for this console. The most important aspect with the graphics is the 3D effects and when you're playing in 3D, there's quite a few "jump out of your seat moments" which is what 3D has been designed for.

I also love that grainy look to the game that when matched with the over the top characters and storyline, it creates this almost retro looking game from the 70's and early 80's. Voice acting is like a bad CAPCOM game which suits it well but beware, this game contains a hell of a lot of swearing that may even make the most politically incorrect person blush. This is F-BOMB central. In regards to sound, the game does make good use of surround sound, especially the boss battles where things are flying around the screen. Gameplay, graphics and sound comes together well.

Final Level

For multiplayer, this game is a strictly a 2-player affair but if you manage to finish the game, it does open up a Director's Cut version that allows you to purchase additional guns with a couple of new levels. Add in bonus artwork, online leaderboards, 3D models and a few other collectibles and there's definitely some replay value here.

The only downside to the game is that you'll finish this in probably just a few hours, especially with 2-players. I loved the Wii version and I loved the PS3 version and The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut is definitely not a game that takes itself too seriously but definitely knows how to have fun. It's raunchy, it's bad and it's F**KING COOL! Recommended!